Evo Lutherie

I have always appreciated harp guitars in the hands of Michael Hedges, Muriel Anderson and John Doan, and I often wondered if there was ever such a thing as a harp ukulele. Then I saw one in a photo of a luthier friend’s shop, and was able to get copy of a plan by the renowned British Luthier, Pete Howlett. I made a few modifications, such as a cutaway, side soundport and arm bevel, slightly larger body, a longer 19 inch fret scale, and correspondingly longer harp arm.

My passion for customizing instruments with a theme came to a head in this project. I first wanted to make a rainbow purfling of colored veneers to bind the inside curve of the harp arm, and that idea eventually led to the Wizard of Oz in all its glory. From the cyclone on the harp head dropping the house on the Wicked Witch of the East, along the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City, you can follow the story of Dorothy and her companions up the fretboard to the Wizard in his balloon. The Wicked Witch of the West herself is hiding in the harp arm sound hole with her crystal ball. The Tin Man’s heart soundport, flying monkey, and the witch’s broomstick on the end wedge round out the cast. I think the beauty of the Zebrawood compliments the inlays nicely.

The Yellow Brick Road was a fun challenge, and was built similarly to the classical rosette mosaics using thin strips of Yellowheart and black veneer. The photo below shows several stages in the process. Routing the channel for it, with the rosettes, required a template and very careful setup.

The rich, clear tone and the incredible sustain of this instrument amaze me, and it is the one I almost always reach for to play. The harp strings lend a wonderful resonance to the sound even when they are not being played. Learning to incorporate the harp strings in my fingerstyle playing has been a delightful and rewarding challenge. Many of my solo videos here were recorded on this instrument.

This harp ukulele and the custom wooden case I had to make to protect it, took over 200 hours to build. Then, of course, I had to bead a Yellow Brick Road strap to go along with it. I later installed a K&K Classic pickup under the bridge plate.Since my hand won’t fit through the sound hole, I needed to build a custom jig recommended by a luthier friend to install the 4 piezo spot pickups.